BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : WORLD SERIES : Suggestion to Shorten Season Isn’t Popular With Owners

According to Commissioner Fay Vincent, “A few owners wondered if I were serious” when he suggested last week that the season should end two weeks earlier to avoid playing the playoffs and the World Series in chilly weather, but none of the owners backed his suggestion.

“The straw poll is not running heavily in my favor,” he said. “I didn’t think it would. I said all things deserve consideration. I think there’s a real worry. Baseball has a real worry about what might happen in bad weather.”

Vincent also said he is not ignoring the concerns of American Indian groups that have protested the name Atlanta Braves and fans’ use of the tomahawk chop as demeaning to the American Indian culture.

“We don’t know enough about what their sensitivities are and their concerns,” Vincent said. “Our failure is a function of not knowing enough, and the only way to deal with that is to wait until more is known. . . . (and) find out what the issues are. After the World Series, I will talk to (Braves’ President) Stan Kasten and find out what the issues are.”

Kevin Tapani, the Minnesota Twins’ starter in Game 5 tonight, said he should have the advantage in facing the Braves for the second time in the Series. But Tom Glavine, Atlanta’s starter, said both hitters and pitchers can learn things from their first encounter that would help them in their second meeting.

“I have a very good feeling; I had a good feeling in Game 2,” said Tapani, who pitched eight strong innings in the Twins’ 3-2 victory at the Metrodome. “I’ve had success before and I’ve learned a few things.”

Glavine, who lost Game 2 to Tapani, said he learned from his mistakes but expects that hitters read his pitching patterns. “It’s a matter of who makes a better adjustment,” he said.

Glavine also said he doesn’t mind working on three days of rest. “I’m happy; I honestly want to get back out there as soon as I can,” he said. “I’ve done it three or four times and I didn’t have much of a problem, except the last time in L.A., and I didn’t feel well that time.”